


Jasper the Friendly Ghost

by darlingDesires



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series), Casper (1995)
Genre: Based off the 1995 movie Casper, Fluff, I stole a lot of dialogue and the plot but I'm tweaking it a lil, If you watch the movie you'll know what I mean, Jasper's a GHOST and he's LONELY but what else is new, M/M, Not technically Danvid, Romantic Stuff, This is my lazy Saturday freewriting, Updates will probably be inconsistent, has this been done before?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-06
Updated: 2018-02-08
Packaged: 2019-03-14 18:26:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13595808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darlingDesires/pseuds/darlingDesires
Summary: “Are you depressed, anxious? Are you lonely? Do you need someone to talk to? No problem… if you're a ghost.”Dr. Harvey came up on the screen as an interview, smiling. “You can call them ghosts, if you like, or as I prefer, the living impaired. But the bottom line is, they need help sometimes. Just like the rest of us.”“After the sudden, unexpected death of his wife Amelia, Dr. Harvey gave up conventional psychiatry and, some say, conventional sanity. Now, along with his loner son, Davey, short for David…”The camera panned over to a photo of a displeased redhead, who seemed to be in junior high. Jasper’s eyes widened as he felt a pang of… something in his chest, something warm and soft.





	1. Doctor Harvey, Therapist to the Dead

**Author's Note:**

> HEY this is HIGHLY based off of the 1995 movie Casper! Except it's Jasper. Yeah.
> 
> This is kind of an intercalary story while I finish some things up with current works, so it's not too great, but it's got potential, so... enjoy!

Two boys exchanged hushed conversation amongst themselves as they rode towards the forlorn manor, rumored by most to be haunted. They skid their bikes to the stop, rushing over to the chained-shut gate in awe.

“Okay,” One of the boys smiled, “One picture, and we’re history.”

A gentle thump resonated through the exterior of the house, rumbling the ground ever so slightly. The other boy hunched his back over. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”

They slipped through the holes in the gate and made their way into the driveway, long dead garden decorating the large pillars that held up the overhang in front of the mansion. As they approached the tall oak door, one of the boys began having second thoughts. “Oh man, do we have to do this?”

“You want everyone at school to think we’re chicken?”

“I could live with that.”

“Ugh, you wuss. Come on.” The giant, cylindrical room considered the foyer was the first thing the pair saw when they entered the abandoned house. “Woah.”

“I-I don’t see anything,” The second boy stammered over his words, fidgeting as the creaky door finished drifting open. “Do you?”

“No, I don’t see anything,” The other replied, whispering, hushing the other as he scrambled for his camera.

“Let’s just take the picture and get out of here.”

“Fine, fine, here. Take the picture.” The first boy handed the second his camera, and stood in the center of the room, posing heroically.

“No, wait a minute! I gotta be in the picture too, or no one will believe I was here!” The second shoved the camera back into the first’s hands.

“Just shut up and take the picture.”

“No,  _ you _ take the picture.”

“You take it.”

“You!”

Swooping down from the stairwell, unbeknownst to the two boys, was a ghost with sandy-blonde hair and ocean blue eyes. “Hey, don’t fight, homeskillets! I’ll take the picture.” The ghost took the camera from the boy holding it, smiling. “Say cheese!”

The shutter flashed, and both boys began screaming as the polaroid started printing. They sprinted as fast as they could away from the manor, shrieking all the way. The ghost followed them as far as the door, saddened but slightly humored face apparent if they only turned around. “You forgot your camera!”

 

The next visitors came just short of a week later, a tall blonde woman and a slightly shorter brown-haired man.

Jasper smiled, seating himself on top of the banister, he didn’t think they could see him. “Hello!”

“Huh?!” The woman exclaimed, hiding behind the man, whispering to him in an urgently hushed voice. “Who is it?”

“Who is it?” The man repeated, louder.

“I’m… afraid I can't answer that,” Jasper laughed softly, gripping his forearm gently.

“Why not?” The woman whispered.

“Why not?” The man repeated.

Jasper made a humming noise, waving his hands in a gentle gesture with an awkward smile. “It's... kind of hard to explain. Uh…”

“Is he the caretaker?” She whispered.

“Are you the caretaker?”

“Well, No…”

“Is he a transient?”

“Is he a… Are you a transient?” He repeated, correcting himself.

Jasper fidgeted with his hands. “No, not exactly.”

“Tell him to show himself.”

“Show yourself!”

They must not have seen him. Jasper hesitated before he responded next, hopping down from the railing and standing straight. “Here's the thing. If I do, don't scream, okay? ...I get that a lot.”

“Are you a burglar?” The man asked, unprompted by the woman, hand drifting to the cellular phone on his hip, clearly bluffing. “I must warn you that I am armed!”

“Listen! Cut the crap, okay?” The woman hissed, coming out from behind her human shield, stamping her foot on the floor, and speaking with loud volume. “If you don't show yourself  _ right now _ , I'm gonna have you arrested for  _ trespassing _ !”

“Okay, okay, geez, calm down, lady…” Jasper said softly, much quieter than her. He braced himself with a smile. “Here I come!” Jasper slid down the banister, smiling brightly as the two. “Hi! I'm Jasper!”

Despite his warning, the duo let out a loud scream.

“No, no, no, you shouldn't do that, or you'll wake up--” Loud wailing, shrieking, and laughing echoed through the room, bouncing from wall-to-wall as the room began spinning. Jasper put his head in his hands, nodding from side to side, sighing. “Too late.”

They two people who Jasper would learn are the new owners of the property tried everything to rid the mansion of the ghosts. And when that didn’t work, they hired construction workers to tear down the manor, but the workers were scared off by the haunting screams of the departed. And day after day, a new method would be used, a new plan set into motion, but none of them succeeded, and things were beginning to get tediously repetitive.

 

Jasper boredly sat, flipping through the television channels. He settled on a news station.

“More on the Pentagon playboys as the story unfolds, but now: Step aside, Sigmund Freud. Jump back, Joyce Brothers, it's Dr. James Harvey, therapist… to the  _ dead _ ?”

Jasper raised his eyebrows in curiosity, leaning forward in his chair.

“Are you depressed, anxious? Are you lonely? Do you need someone to talk to? No problem… if you're a ghost.”

Dr. Harvey came up on the screen as an interview, smiling. “You can call them ghosts if you like, or as I prefer, the living impaired. But the bottom line is, they need help sometimes. Just like the rest of us.”

“After the sudden, unexpected death of his wife Amelia, Dr. Harvey gave up conventional psychiatry and, some say, conventional sanity. Now, along with his loner son, Davey, short for David…”

The camera panned over to a photo of a displeased redhead, who seemed to be in junior high. Jasper’s eyes widened as he felt a pang of… something in his chest, something warm and soft.

“...Doc Harvey travels from town to town, searching for paranoid poltergeists, scared specters, the depressed and the dead.”

A camera crew of reporters followed the therapist’s son from the other side of the fence, pointed at him despite his clear dislike of the camera.

“How do you feel about what your father does for a living?”

Davey scowled. “Could you please not ask me any questions?”

“Do you believe in ghosts? Ever seen one? Does your father ever hurt you in any way?”

He turned to glare at the reporters. “...He's my  _ father _ .”

“Could you just talk to us?”

“Look, it's the first day of school, and I'm sure I'm gonna have a-” censor bleep “-ton of homework, so would you please?” He gestured with his hand, dismissing the crew.

The interview with the striking boy ended, and the reporter continued with the story, but the idea struck him with a smile. Giving the new property owners another, slightly different, untried method of ghost removal-- Jasper decided that he should hint at her giving this Doctor Harvey a call.


	2. A Freak's Holiday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “It’s not that bad. After all, a new town means new friends and new opportunities.”
> 
> “No, it really is that bad.” Davey retorted, taking his sunglasses off with one hand, looking over at his dad. “Especially when your dad’s a fucking ‘afterlife therapist’.”
> 
> “Well, it’s a new school, ma--”
> 
> “Are you kidding me? Those kids are gonna freak when they find out. They always do, and then it’s off to the loser corner. Again. Ghosts aren’t even real, you’re just stealing money from the stupid and gullible.”

Davey stared out the open window at the passing barren scenery, an uncharismatic desert, slouching further down in his seat than should be possible.

“Oh, come on, Davey,” Dr. Harvey encouraged, noticing his son’s distraught and disinterested behavior, reaching a hand over to ruffle his hair. Davey squirmed and swatted his hand away. “It’s not that bad. After all, a new town means new friends and new opportunities.”

“No, it really is that bad.” Davey retorted, taking his sunglasses off with one hand, looking over at his dad. “ _ Especially _ when your dad’s a fucking ‘afterlife therapist’.”

“Well, it’s a new school, ma--”

“Are you kidding me? Those kids are gonna freak when they find out. They  _ always _ do, and then it’s off to the loser corner.  _ Again _ . Ghosts aren’t even real, you’re just stealing money from the stupid and gullible.”

The rest of the drive was tense and quiet before the car pulled into the driveway of the rather large mansion, it was almost enough to make Davey’s bad attitude dissipate. He and his dad had taken it upon themselves to unpack their things from the car, looking around and exploring the vast and endless manor.

“Have you seen any surprises yet?” Dr. Harvey prompted with a wink.

Davey scoffed, and he would have been crossing his arms had he not been carrying his luggage. “Please. This is the deadest place yet.”

As they continued wandering about the house, Dr. Harvey called his son’s attention to one of the bedrooms. “This is a nice room.”

“Yeah, right. This place is a freak’s holiday.” Davey jumped onto the bed in a seated position, and a cloud of dust flew up into the air. He coughed, standing back up with a sour frown. “Whatever, it’ll do, probably the best I’ll find in this dumb house.”

“Need any help unpacking?”

“Why bother? I’ll just be repacking in two weeks anyway.” Davey snapped, laying his suitcase flat on the floor. At the lack of response, he looked back up, smiling blankly. “Kidding.”

“Well… I’ll leave you to get settled, then. Holler if you need anything”

“‘Kay, bye.” Davey moved to sit in front of his suitcase, he swore he could hear someone talking. He sighed, mimicking his dad’s voice as he wistlessly looked through his bag, “ _ I swear, this time the house really is haunted, Davey. We aren’t just picking up and leaving for nothing, Davey. It’ll be easy once you get settled and make friends, Davey. _ ”

Davey stood from the floor and turned around to grab his other bag, interrupted by what he saw. In the middle of the room stood a blonde boy about his age wearing suspiciously 80’s clothes, but the part that freaked Davey out the most was the fact that he could see  _ through _ the boy.

“Uh… hi?” The boy smiled, waving an awkward hand.

Davey passed out.

“Oh, man!” The ghost boy smacked himself in the face, huffing, muttering to himself as he hovered towards the bathroom adjacent to the bedroom. “Perfect first impression. What a jerk.” He filled a washcloth with cool water, making his way back to the fainted redhead. He gently squeezed the water from the rag onto Davey’s face, discarding it shortly after, watching in anticipation.

Davey came to with a gentle gasp, vision slightly blurry. He must’ve fallen asleep, _ I think I saw a ghost in my dream. _ He rubbed his eyes with his hands, why was his face wet? When his vision unblurred, he was face-to-face with the same ghost boy from his dream-- no, it couldn’t have been a dream, not if he was… right in front of him…

_ Okay, let’s try this again.  _ “Hi, I-I’m Jasper.” Davey drew in a tight breath, sitting up, screaming at the top of his lungs. Jasper panicked, screaming back, prompting Davey’s dad to come running up the stairs.

“Davey?!” He called. Jasper looked over his shoulder and flew off to the side, though a wall. Davey slipped and grabbed the bedpost to help him stand up, panicked breathing taking the best of him. His dad got there not a moment later, putting his hands on either side of his panicking son. “Davey?! Davey, what’s wrong?!”

“Dad, I saw a  _ ghost _ !” Davey exclaimed, eyes wide. “I-it was this tall, and blonde, and it looked-- it looked like an 80s kid, it…” His dad’s expression softened just slightly, and Davey drew his face into one of disbelief. “Oh, no. No, no, no, no. You can  _ not _ think I’m as crazy as I thought you were. I really saw it, it was right here!”

Dr. Harvey turned on Patronizing Father Mode™ and gave a sympathetic smile towards Davey. “There aren’t any ghosts in here, I promise.” And to prove it, he did the most annoying thing he could have done in that moment.

He checked behind the curtains. “No ghost here.”

Davey crossed his arms as his dad knelt down to the bed, picking up the skirt of it. “Knock it off, dad. I know what I saw.”

“No ghost here, either.” Dr. Harvey smiled warmly as he walked to the closet door, hand on the doorknob. “And, I’m willing to bet, there’s no ghost in here.”

He turned the handle, and the door drifted open, revealing the blonde ghost boy standing there guiltily. He laughed softly, extending a hand to the therapist. “...Pleasure to meet you, sir.”

Dr. Harvey screamed, causing the ghost to jump backward and phase through the wall. He grabbed his son and heaved him over his shoulder, running out of the room as Davey struggled. “Dad! What are you doing? ...I can  _ walk _ !”

Dr. Harvey set Davey down inside a closet, holding his hands out to steady himself. “Stay-- stay here, Davey, I’ll take care of this.”

Davey began to step out of the closet before his dad locked him inside. He leaned against the door, smacking his palms into the groomed wood. “God fucking damn it, don’t you  _ dare  _ leave me in here!”

When he got no response, he figured his dad must have gone off already. He sighed, flipping over so he leaned with his back against the door, smacking his fist into it once more for good measure. He closed his eyes and let his head fall back, hitting the door with a soft thud. “This is bullshit…”

The door behind him swung open, and Davey tumbled backward, smacking against the floor. He opened his eyes, expecting to complain to his dad, but he made eye contact with the boy from earlier. He prepared his lungs for a preemptive scream before the ghost’s hand clamped itself over his mouth.

“No no no! Don’t scream!” Jasper whispered desperately, eyes wide as he looked around the room as if he was expecting something. His gaze rested on the redhead again, who was starting to panic just slightly. “I’m not gonna hurt you, okay? Just… please don’t scream. I’m a ghost, yes, I admit it, but I-I’m a friendly ghost! I promise!” He hesitated, watching Davey’s face for a reaction. “Uh, I’m gonna let you go now. Promise me you won’t scream?”

Eyes wide, Davey nodded slowly, and Jasper moved his hand away. Davey’s jaw slacked as he looked at the ghost boy in awe.

“Uh… you’re Davey, right?” Jasper prompted, taking a polite step backward to give Davey his personal space.  _ Play it cool _ . “I think I saw you on TV the other night.”

“Yeah.” Davey pushed himself up to stand, not taking his eyes off of Jasper for a moment. Everything felt surreal, considering that earlier in the day he’d denied the existence of ghosts, and there was one staring him straight and undeniably in the face. It’s pretty difficult to ignore and dismiss what’s right in front of you, unless you’re United States president Donald J. Trump. “Yeah…”

“Oh, radical. Nice to meet ya, Davey!”

He had lots of questions, but he only felt himself able to ask one. “Why can’t I scream?”

“Well,” Jasper gestured with his hands, eyes looking everywhere but Davey, laughing awkwardly. “See, it’s my uncles, they’re uh… not that friendly to the, uh… ghost-ridders that come here. Or anyone living, really. If they heard you scream, well, that’s just their cue to come up and… ‘introduce’ themselves, you could say.”

“Ghost-ridders? You mean Ghostbusters?”

“Well-- no, actually, the property owner’s called everyone but Bill Murray. That’d be rad if she did, though. But, uh, ghost-ridders, ridding the house of ghosts. You know,” Jasper stammered, “like-like what you do? Your-- you and your… dad?”

Davey raised his eyebrows, taking another slight shuffle away from Jasper. He didn’t know why he was talking with this ghost boy, but he was, and the ghost boy was talking right back with him. “If… you think I’m gonna get rid of you, why are you talking to me?”

Jasper smiled sheepishly, fidgeting, awkwardly. He’d hoped this question wouldn’t come up, but there it was. Almost inevitable. He just hoped his responses didn’t seem too jittery, too nervous, too… desperate. “Uh, for as long as you’ll be here, I mean… I guess I might as well get to know you? I guess? Haha, I don’t know.”

There was a gentle pause where Davey hit a wall distancing himself from the ghost before speaking again. “Well, I’m not gonna get rid of you,” he murmured, “probably. My dad’s a  _ therapist _ , not an… exorcist and I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure he’s not Bill Murray, either.”

“Oh! That’s… that’s good news.” Jasper laughed awkwardly.

Davey turned away from the ghost and began walking away. He would’ve kept walking had a sudden realization not hit him. He sighed unenthusiastically, lead by his mind and thoughts as per usual, glancing over his shoulder to where the ghost boy still stood. He raised an eyebrow. “No offense, but this is kind of pathetic.”

“Huh?” Jasper hummed, rocking up to his tiptoes, tilting his head to the side inquisitively.

“I mean, you’re willing to try talking to the people you think are gonna get rid of you.” Davey crossed his arms, shifting his weight. “It’s like if a rat cozied up to a pest control guy. You must be pretty lonely, huh?”

“Lonely?” Jasper laughed softly, uncomfortably. “Wow, you…  _ really _ don’t beat around the bush, huh? But uh, no. I’m not lonely. I think you’re getting the wrong idea, dawg, I just like being… hospitable? To the humans that come here. And that happens to be you this time around. So it’s not that I’m lonely, it’s just that I’m making sure that… you, as a living person, aren’t… without… conversation. And stuff like that. I think I read somewhere that loneliness kills and since-- well, elephant in the room-- I can’t exactly die again, I don’t mind just… you know, chillin’ here until some lonely living persons come around.”

“I wouldn’t blame you if you were lonely,” Davey took a single step forward. Suddenly the ghost boy didn’t seem so intimidating. “I mean, you  _ say _ you’re fine just talking with whoever, but how many visitors do you  _ actually _ get? Like, none, probably. You sure you don’t find yourself a little lonely?”

“Spoken like a true therapist’s son,” Jasper laughed halfheartedly before a gentle noise from outside directed his attention elsewhere, and he immediately hopped up, a few inches above the ground. “Oh, geez…” He murmured, turning back to the confused Davey. “I-I’m sorry, I have to take care of something.”

“...Have fun,” Davey replied gently, giving a small nod in the direction Jasper had headed off towards.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof and thus begins the parts that diverge from Casper's canon, my apologies to die-hard Casper enthusiasts
> 
> Trust me though, I'll wrap things around, I'll find a way B)


End file.
